Volleyball Cruises Past Florida Gulf Coast in Final Match of Mizzou TournamentVolleyball Cruises Past Florida Gulf Coast in Final Match of Mizzou Tournament
Volleyball

Volleyball Cruises Past Florida Gulf Coast in Final Match of Mizzou Tournament

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Volleyball defeated Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU) 3-1 in its final match of the Mizzou Tournament on Sunday at Hearnes Center. The victory caps a perfect weekend for the Tigers with previous wins over Arkansas State and Wichita State.

KEY PLAYERS 

  • Senior Grace O’Reilly notched a career-high 13 kills and recorded a hitting efficiency of .722, which is the first time a Tiger has hit over .700 since 2023 (Morgan Isenberg at Auburn on Oct. 23, 2023).
  • Fifth year opposite hitter Kimani Johnson also hammered 13 kills to tie her career high.
  • Senior libero Ainoah Cruz received 15 digs and has now passed the milestone of 1,500 career digs, at 1,514 after playing FGCU. 

SET ONE (Mizzou 25-14, Mizzou leads 1-0)

Mizzou (6-2, 0-0 SEC) started off strong in the opening points of the match, as senior Grace O’Reilly (Springfield, Mo.) notched the first kill. The Eagles answered back with a kill of their own, but the Tigers quickly responded with an ace by freshman Piper Batie (Bentonville, Ark.). Freshman Lydia Stahley (Indianapolis, Ind.) followed with an ace and added a kill to help push Mizzou to a five-point lead (9-4). Mizzou continued its run with four more kills extending the lead to six points (15-9). 

Fifth-year Kimani Johnson (Southfield, Mich.) recorded two kills in the remainder of the frame to help Mizzou keep its lead (20-12). An ace by senior Sierra Dudley (Spartanburg, S.C.) pushed the Tigers to set point (24-12). A service error from FGCU resulted in the Tigers closing out the set with a 25-14 victory.

SET TWO (FGCU 25-16, Tied 1-1)

Johnson had three kills in the beginning of the second set to give Mizzou an early lead (5-3). FGCU responded and tied it up with an ace (5-5), spurring a scoring run. A kill by junior Lauren Larkin (St. George, Utah) snapped the drought, leaving FGCU up by four (10-6). Kills by freshman Ceylin Kuyan (Istanbul, Turkey) and O’Reilly attempted to shrink the deficit, but the Eagles remained in the lead (15-10). Two aces by FGCU extended their margin (22-13), and FGCU closed out the set (25-16) despite a kill from O’Reilly in the final points.

SET THREE (Mizzou 25-17, Mizzou leads 2-1)

The Tigers and the Eagles traded points to start off the third set (2-2). FGCU went on a five-point run, giving them a slight edge (5-3). Freshman Eva Smith (Durham, N.C.) shrank the gap to a two-point difference (8-6) with an essential block. The Eagles stayed consistently at a two point lead over the Tigers until Mizzou tied it up with a kill from freshman Maizy Agnello (Crystal Lake, Ill.) (14-14). Mizzou retook the lead with a kill by Johnson (16-15). A block from Smith and another kill from Johnson pushed Missouri to a four-point lead (19-15). The Tiger front row recorded two blocks in the remainder of the frame. An attack error from the Eagles let the Tigers close out the set with a 25-17 victory. 

SET FOUR (FGCU 25-16, Mizzou wins 3-0)

Mizzou opened up the fourth with a block by O’Reilly to claim the first point of the set (1-0). The Tigers and the Eagles would battle back and forth before Mizzou took charge with a four-point run (7-4). The Eagles went on a three-point run of their own to tie the score back up (7-7). Mizzou responded with a six-point run to push the lead to six (13-7), highlighted by two Kuyan kills. Junior Tia Phinezy (Fort Wayne, Ind.) spearheaded the defensive effort with back-to-back blocks and lengthened the lead (18-11).

The two programs continued to trade points until Mizzou began to pull ahead, thanks to a Kuyan block (23-16). FGCU fought back with a block and a kill, but a Johnson kill and an ace from Smith sealed the victory for the Tigers, as they defeated the Eagles 3-1. 

GAME NOTES

  • Missouri is now 3-0 against FGCU all-time
  • Tigers head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 172-73 all-time and 63-35 at Mizzou.
  • The Tigers now have 40+ kills and 30+ assists in seven consecutive matches
  • O’Reilly scored the first point for Mizzou in all four sets, and the senior now has back-to-back matches with 10+ points.
  • The Tiger offense posted a hitting percentage of .392, which is their second-highest this season

NEXT UP

The Tigers will play Dayton in their first of three matches in the Bowling Green/Toledo Invitational at noon on Friday in Bowling Green, Ohio. 

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